₦airaland Forum

This story is really touching. I assure u, this story when published would surely win u a great Award.

[quote author=AudreyTimms]He rang the door bell twice before Oleng opened the door. She was surprised to see him. She should have known he wouldn’t let matters be.

“Hi. Can I come in?”

Oleng just stared at him and folded her arms across her chest. “For what?”

He was shocked but not deterred. “I came to teach you that physics you’ve been asking me to teach you.”

It was her turn to be shocked because she had only told him once that she needed help with her physics.

“Well, I’m not in the mood for receiving lessons. Well, if that is all…..” She made to close the door but he placed a foot at the door before she could shut it.

“Sunshine please. At least hear me out.”

“Ric…Eric, whatever you do with your break time and whoever you spend it with is entirely your business.” she launched back furiously at him. “Just leave me alone!” She made to close the door again when he asked,

“Why didn’t you tell me Oge has been maltreating you?”

She was transfixed with surprise.

“Who told you?”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we promised each other that we wouldn’t have secrets. Why did you keep such a thing from me?” He was angry too.

Tears came to her eyes. “I didn’t want any trouble.”

“Trouble? Did you stop to think how I would feel if I found out? How could you? You know I can handle her.” he accused.

She felt sorry that she hadn’t told him but remembered what she had seen that day.

Her anger surged. “Oh yes! You can handle her alright. You did just that today, didn’t you?”

“It’s not what you think. Nothing happened.”

“Really?” she enquired sweetly.

Eric then explained everything that happened still at her door steps. As she wanted to reply, she heard her phone ring so she ran to go and answer the call.

Eric took it as an avenue to enter the house. He smiled when he saw Oleng was frowning when he came to the living room. She didn’t know how beautiful she looked like that. She told the person to call her back later.

“I didn’t ask you to come in.” she intoned coldly when she was through with the call.

“I know but the door was opened. So I came in.” he retorted nonchalantly as he sat down in the tastefully furnished living room.

“Well, I want you to leave.” she fired back at him.

“Make me.” he dared.

She sat down looking at him in anger. He explained what happened again.

“Tell me you weren’t turned on when she took off her shirt.” she threw at him when he was through.

He shook his head slowly. “The issue here is that I didn’t fall for her.”

“Please!” she said in digust with a wave of her hand and turned away from him to stare at the television.

He looked at her intently. “Frankly, there is only one girl on earth who would come on strong to me to make me fall flat.”

She slowly turned to look at him. The question was in her eyes but she didn’t dare ask.

“You.” he told her shortly. “You can come on strong to me any day any time, sunshine and I’ll fall hook, line and sinker.”

Oleng could not help looking away. She was embarrassed.

“And as for Oge, you need not worry about her anymore. She’ll be dethroned on Monday.”

“What?” She turned to look at him then.

“I reported her to the principal. There have been numerous complains about her. This was the last straw.”

“How could you? It will only worsen matters.” she lamented.

“No. She’ll only be a toothless bull dog now.”

“No! She’ll use her prefect friends against me. All of them will hate me for making the principal dethrone her.”

Eric studied her calmly before smiling.

“These are the very same prefects who have been complaining to the principal about her. They’ll be glad when she’s dethroned.”

“Really? But she’ll still have some loyal friends.”

He smiled again and she had to look away. He didn’t know he looked more handsome whenever he smiled.

“You underestimate me, sunshine. I think you sometimes forget I’m the senior prefect.”

“I’ve never forgotten. It’s the reason why I don’t like drawing attention to myself in school at all. I don’t want people to say I’m taking advantage of the fact that my best friend is the senior prefect. Now they’ll go about saying such.”

“But they don’t know what happened. It was Zinny who told me about what she has been doing to you.”

“Zinny?” she asked in bewilderment.

“Yeah. When I asked of your whereabouts and when she asked what happened between you, Oge and I. No one knows she’s going to be dethroned on Monday except you and I.”

“Thank God. That’s a relief. I don’t want to be the talk of the whole school.”

“Neither do I but the thing is, people will still talk.”

“Well, that’s true.”

There was a moment of silence between them. Eric got up and went to sit very close to her on the sofa and took her hand.

“Sunshine, am I forgiven for what happened this afternoon? I swear, nothing happened between us. It was a set up but I didn’t fall. Don’t allow a nonentity come between us. Please don’t throw away our friendship of ten years.”

All the while he was talking, Oleng wasn’t looking at him but the hand he held. She raised her head to look at him. “I heard her talk about the plan with her friends but didn’t know it was to try to seduce you for me to think you had sex with her. I was so angry seeing both of you coming out of the toilet, dressing up.”

“She was the one who……” he tried to explain but she placed a finger on his lips.

“Ssh… You’ve already explained yourself. I’m glad you didn’t fall.” She smiled shyly.

“Thanks. Me too.” he said smiling and pulled her to give her a hug. They hardly hugged these days so she was glad when they did and they stayed like that for while until she pulled away wondering at the sensations that were running all over her body. Eric felt it also and was lost for words before pulling himself together.

“So, what about the physics lesson?”

“Certainly not. I’m not in the mood. Maybe another time.” she informed him smiling.

“Alright.” he said with a slight shrug.

“Where’s Tessy?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s in her room.”

Tessy was her mum’s distant relative. She was twenty two years old and was studying in the state university close by. Her mum had brought her to live with them when Oleng was ten and to take care of her since she constantly traveled but Tessy always ignored her. Whenever she was around which was seldom, she would lock herself up in the room and behave as if Oleng didn’t exist. It hurt Oleng a lot because she had been so happy when her mum had brought the latter thinking she would no longer be lonely. She was used to her now anyway. Besides, she didn’t need her as far as she had Eric.

She was surprised to hear her mum’s car horn. She got up and went to the window to lift the curtain to make sure and saw their gateman running to go and open the gate.

“My mum is back.” she informed Eric.

Eric sighed a little. He could count the number of times he had seen Oleng’s mum. She owned chains of boutiques where she sold both English wears and all kinds of materials. She also dealt in jeweleries; gold, diamond, sapphire, rubbies, platinum, whatever; which made her travel all over Nigeria and the world. She was rarely at home.

He never knew Oleng was neglected until he got very close to her. Her mum would travel out of the country for over two weeks and leave her alone at home assuming her distant relative, Tessy would take care of Oleng not knowing that Tessy would also travel and leave Oleng all alone. She always came back before Oleng’s mum. Oleng not wanting her mum to send the girl packing, never reported because at least she was at home sometimes and she didn’t want to be all alone again since her mum didn’t have time for her.

Eric had visited her one day and found her crying. She said her mum didn’t love her because times without number, she had tried talking with her mum but the latter was always too busy to talk to her. He had told her that she was the one not trying her best to get close to her mum but she had replied that there was no time to get close to her because if her mum wasn’t in Kano or Kaduna today, she would be in either one African country or the other or Dubai the following day and when she was even at home, she was too tired to talk to her when she came home at night, tired from running her numerous boutiques.

Eric had tried to make his mum her mum also but she was too scared of his mum, saying she was too much of a society lady for her to get close to. Eric knew that at first sight his mum appeared that way but inwardly, she was a very sweet person.
Eric was the first person to know when she started menstruating. It had been one of those periods when both her mum and Tessy traveled. She had thought she was sick having never been told anything about adolescence and feminine changes.

She had called Eric who in turn told his mum. It was his mum who had come over to lecture her and buy her her first sanitary towel before she told her mum when she came back. Her mum hadn’t told her anything but made sure she had a regular supply of sanitary towel as she did with her clothes and money. Oleng didn’t lack anything except motherly love. She had money, clothes, and jeweleries at her beck and call but a mother’s love.

Kudos! Wonderful piece of work. Exceptional I must say